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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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Four people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.' j' x2 @/ }8 d% T, L
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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.$ ^, f' B4 b4 V* [* I9 S- r4 N6 Q
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One worker was being treated for second and third-degree burns, the most serious types. A second suffered first-degree burns, and a third person had a neck injury.! _& E3 z! b4 T4 Q. I8 u \
+ f3 |3 B2 Q. `The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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* S; I, D* Z8 u. \' V"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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+ ~' U# P4 F* |3 G5 [8 c# H- u) UReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.+ H& a: B8 ^9 g& ^/ y5 `
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
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* Z4 u8 E: a/ X: FAnd a man whose wife works at the plant was concerned for her safety. "It is a ball of fire," said the man, who would not be named.9 b) |+ F+ \& Y; f6 j, `0 G
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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1 f4 B' R5 F4 BChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."7 `2 [. j# ^ X9 Q3 g
6 X! q& [" M8 \0 N% y* tThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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5 K) N# g1 x$ h; M5 n9 ?% NBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.0 A8 s5 [$ D( S6 X& @
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
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6 D; ]' V* A; L: h k7 s9 k0 N5 RThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.
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"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.: u3 W L. P* P, J4 N- \/ t/ ]) r
. ~- w6 O- ~$ {8 K" P% D+ Y# MHorizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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It is impossible to gauge the impact on the company -- or how the incident might affect multibillion-dollar expansion plans for Horizon -- until the extent of the damage is known, said Michael Dunn, an analyst with FirstEnergy Capital Corp.
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; [4 H; G) s) c, w6 ]- J: WA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.7 M) s6 n8 E5 L1 m/ x2 t- F) m3 l
+ V+ ?$ W3 k+ N, y; ^" h- U) jThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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Canadian Natural, Canada's No. 1 independent oil producer, said earlier Thursday that Horizon's output averaged 83,700 barrels per day in December, down 22% from November, as it shut down the upgrader's coker unit for repairs. The company said it had restarted the unit.8 K# ~: g! {# Z% Q8 M
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Fires in the complex upgraders have been relatively frequent. Production at Suncor Energy Inc.'s oilsands project was hobbled when a fire broke out at one of its two upgraders in December 2009. A second unit was damaged in another blaze last February.! j2 t" W/ I( K3 [
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Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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